Ireland warns Brexit talks hurtling towards new crisis point

Brexit talks are hurtling to another crisis point unless progress is made in the next two rounds of talks, the Irish foreign minister, Simon Coveney, has said.

His warning comes as industry analysis of deliveries from Britain to high-street supermarket chains in Northern Ireland found that firms could incur costs of more than £100,000 per lorry unless the special Brexit arrangements for the region were sorted out.

The new protocols involving customs and food certification checks begin in January next year whether the UK’s future relationship with the EU is agreed or not.

Ireland has expressed renewed concerns that there would not be a trade deal that could at least mitigate some of the worst effects of Brexit on Northern Ireland.

Coveney said progress in talks over the future relationship between the European Union and UK “has not been good”.

“Unless there is significant progress in those negotiating rounds then I think we are going to reach yet another crisis point in the Brexit negotiations, which from the Irish point of view is very, very serious,” he told RTE’s Sean O’Rourke show.

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